56 Fairlane- I need help

IChangeBrakes

IChangeBrakes

New member
So I found out my dad really likes a 56 Crown Vic. So I have been keeping an eye on them on eBay and realize $50K USD is not in my budget. Lo and behold a 56 Fairlane town sedan came up at a "local" auction. So I put the starting low bid on the car (<3k USD) and got a call that the guy removed the reserve and I was the proud new owner. :eek:
So now I need Help. I've never owned a Ford let alone an older Ford. I would like to have this street-able by Christmas to give to my dad. I need to get the Miata out of my garage and this car in.
I have been able to tell it has a 351W in it and no clue about what auto transmission.

Shift linkage is backwards on the column. Drive is park and park is drive. Any ideas on finding out what trans I have and how to correct this?

Front door cards and headliner need replacing. Headliner is easy to find, but is there a place to buy upholstered door panels or do I need to get these remade? A full interior reupholstery kit would be nice, but not necessary.

The brakes only work on the second pump. Master cylinder, bleed, replace ???

It has a few more issues that I think I can handle like Shocks, Hood latch, lights and signals don't work and the key situation is a mess (I wonder what's in the trunk!).

I would appreciate any help anyone can give me. Thanks
 
IChangeBrakes said:
I have been able to tell it has a 351W in it and no clue about what auto transmission.

Shift linkage is backwards on the column. Drive is park and park is drive. Any ideas on finding out what trans I have and how to correct this?
Click to expand...

Most likely, the engine and trans came together and the trans is a floor shift model. If kept column shift you will need to change the shift lever on the trans case.

Front door cards and headliner need replacing. Headliner is easy to find, but is there a place to buy upholstered door panels or do I need to get these remade? A full interior reupholstery kit would be nice, but not necessary.
Click to expand...

Is the card itself in good condition? It will have to be re-upholsterd.

The brakes only work on the second pump. Master cylinder, bleed, replace ???
Click to expand...

When you get the car raised and on stands, you need to take photos of the trans and perform a full brake inspection.
 
Holy Gadzooks Buddy, you’re gonna need some help!

Find a Ford Club and an experienced member QUICK!
 
ICB, welcome to the Ford Barn for late Ford V8's!! It's going to take a few posts before you can post pictures, so don't be put off by that wrinkle here.

So cool you're doing this for your dad!!! Not sure about your plans for the Christmas surprise, but regardless of the progress you make in the next six week or so, he's going to love it.

My dad was a Ford mechanic in an earlier life and one of the best old car experiences I could ever have had was working on my first one with him!!! (If I had known how much fun we were going to have together, I would have done it a lot sooner!!:)

The very best of luck to you with this project!!!
 
Welcome to the club! First off grab the repair manuals from one of the vendors (I generally use Concourse out of NV-but use who you like). Check out the following places for parts:

-Pre-60's (orig parts-in your neck of the woods I believe)
SMS upholstery in Oregon for door cards/whole kits.

If you are new to old cars, original is ALWAYS best-99% of the time. Most of the time things can be rebuilt with a little effort. Check for rust in the floor pans, rocker panels etc.

Mike
 
I am sure he will like the car ready to roll or needing work... There is nothing on this earth that I would of loved to do like this with my Dad... Make this a chance to do it together. Put a big bow on it AS IS and he will still be over the top surprised. This work can NOT be done safely in the next few weeks anyway. Parts alone take that time to get to you sometimes. Again enjoy the car together. It will still be your GIFT to him.
 
Thank you all for the replies. Good information. My Christmas deadline is looming and I haven't been able to even move it yet. Ugh.
 
I had door reproduction cards made at SMS in Oregon. It took a year to get them because of their backlog. They also supplied me with reproduction seat cloth and vinyl because I was going for authentic. A local shop recovered the seats. I don't think you want authentic so I advise you to look locally but even if the door cards are missing and the seat is covered by an old poncho I'm sure your dad will love it.
 
Thanks for the replies. Not going with authentic, just running good & safe. Missed Christmas by a mile and still haven't touched the car other than to figure things out. His birthday is the end of the month, so I got motivated again...
Lots of parts on the way. C4 column shift linkage. I just need to move the lever to the bottom of the transmission and adjust the rod to the correct placement. Looks like an easy fix. (yeah, I know I just jinxed that)
New Windshield - a place in Minnesota, was the cheapest I found.
Disk front brake kit.
New brake booster with disc/drum valve
New keys and ignition. Any Idea how to get into the locked trunk? Hopefully nothing scary in there :eek:
I don't think any of the gauges work, so I need to figure that out ish. Radio works :)
Any issues with modern wheels and 2" spacers? Just easy and cheap to come across. Not doing the whitewalls, but I am upgrading to 215/70R16. A little more room for the disk brakes.
The interior ... Ugh. New Carpet, Headliner, and seat covers. But those $#@$ doors. I guess I'll peel one off and find a local shop to put something nicer on it. Not sure what colors to do. The interior is factory blue. I'm thinking of a white headliner, grey carpet, and seats. Without repainting, I don't know what other color would go with the blue metal and still match with the red & white exterior ???

I thought I would put out a little update, and the next week should get interesting. I'll get the car on the quickjack and go to town, that is if I can keep the %#$@ nissans off it. I did a complete strut, control arms & tierod replacement on one side, Father's Day (how apt), and will get the other side done tonight. New tires & alignment and that one should be good to go for awhile :)
 
Be careful with rear wheel well area if you go the spacer route, there is not a lot of room in there. Also, I am not sure that 2" will work up front with the fenders.

Mike
 
Thanks Mike.
From what I read, the stock wheels have an offset of -6 to -12 mm, and I was looking at 5x114.3 with an offset of 40 mm+. I thought a 2" offset (50mm) would balance them out, not push the wheel further out. Am I missing something?
 
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